Dear Colleague, The AM industry has seen many important advancements in quality monitoring and Sigma…
Study: Early Experiments and Applications for Real-Time Control with Materialise Control Platform and Sigma Labs Melt Pool Monitoring
The Materialise Control Platform delivers an industry-first ability to identify and address process and quality issues in real time.
Metal additive manufacturing (AM) has become a prominent piece of the manufacturing toolkit for industries such as aerospace, medical devices, automotive, and energy to introduce more localized, customizable production. However, a lack of process robustness and repeatability is holding back the broader adoption of AM for serial production. The need for post-build inspection and quality assurance can result in increased costs compared to conventional manufacturing methods.
The Materialise Control Platform (MCP) is an embedded hardware solution that gives end-users more control over the AM process. By integrating the MCP with Sigma Labs’ PrintRite3D® sensor technology, we can identify quality issues and intervene to correct them in real time. Such control actions improve productivity and reduce scrap rates, paving the way for manufacturers to advance their operations and implement metal AM in serial production. The MCP is mostly implemented by AM machine manufacturers when designing their machines, but it can also be retrofitted as an add-on to existing 3D printers in the field.
Other benefits of integrating MCP and PrintRite3D® include reduced hardware footprint — up to a 70% hardware cost reduction — much cleaner high-resolution data in smaller data files — up to a 90% file size reduction — and an open, integrated system with a freely programmable toolbox for user-specific closed-loop algorithm development for your own IP.
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About Materialise
Materialise incorporates over 30 years of 3D printing experience into a range of software solutions and 3D printing services, which form the backbone of the 3D printing industry. Materialise’s open and flexible solutions enable players in a wide variety of industries, including healthcare, automotive, aerospace, art and design, and consumer goods, to build innovative 3D printing applications that aim to make the world a better and healthier place. Headquartered in Belgium, with branches worldwide, Materialise combines the largest groups of software developers in the industry with one of the largest and most complete 3D printing facilities in the world.
About Sigma Labs
Sigma Labs Inc. is a leading provider of in-process quality assurance (IPQA™) software to the additive manufacturing industry. Sigma Labs specializes in the development and commercialization of real-time monitoring and analytics solutions known as PrintRite3D® for 3D metal and polymer advanced manufacturing technologies. PrintRite3D® detects and classifies defects and anomalies in real-time during the manufacturing process, enabling significant cost-savings and production efficiencies. Sigma Labs believes its software product will be a major catalyst for the acceleration and adoption of industrial 3D printing. For more information, please visit www.sigmaadditive.com.
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